Report: ‘Extreme dislike’ but no motive for deputies’ deaths

TRENTON, Fla. (AP) — A man who killed two Florida deputies eating lunch in a restaurant had an “extreme dislike” for law enforcement, but investigators have found no specific plans or motive for the April…

TRENTON, Fla. (AP) — A man who killed two Florida deputies eating lunch in a restaurant had an “extreme dislike” for law enforcement, but investigators have found no specific plans or motive for the April shooting, according to a new report.

John Highnote, 59, of Bell, killed himself after shooting the two Gilchrist County deputies at a Trenton restaurant on April 19.

“Besides Highnote’s affinity for walking around his home with a handgun or rifle, there was no specific evidence to indicate that he planned an attack on law enforcement,” said a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report released Friday. “In the kitchen, there was a typed note affixed to the refrigerator. This note expressed extreme dislike for law enforcement and suggested the author was going to do violence to law enforcement.”

The Gainesville Sun reports the 132-page findings contains interviews with witnesses to the shootings and with Highnote’s relatives.

One nephew told investigators his reclusive uncle had “an extreme disdain for any sort of authority figures,” and another nephew said there had been discord in the family after Highnote inherited his parents’ home near Trenton.

Former co-workers and a woman he briefly dated said Highnote was known for having confrontations with people, the report said.

At his home, investigators found hundreds of photo files showing Highnote wearing only his underwear and holding a gun or a rifle in his hands, according to the report. Investigators also found writings that contained racist and anti-law enforcement materials, including a typewritten note saying, “ALL COPS ARE EVIL, STUPID, LAZY.”

Authorities have said Highnote was armed with two rifles and a handgun when he casually walked into the Ace China restaurant and shot Sgt. Noel Ramirez and Deputy Taylor Lindsey, who were sitting in a booth.

According to the report, autopsies showed both deputies were shot multiple times. Highnote killed himself in his car outside the restaurant.